Bloody Mary
by Road to Revolution
Summary: A trip becomes the worst nightmare ever. Eleven people who don't know each other are lost in the wilderness. At night, they find one dead. And that is only the beginning...
1. Chapter 1

_Hello =D_

_This is my first fanfic ever, so i hope you'll enjoy!_

_I don't own Uraboku or any characters out of it._

* * *

The motor of the bus lets out the last few stuttering, infirm sounds and then dies down. The sun has almost completely disappeared behind the horizon. The shadows grow longer and darker than the nights before. The tips of the trees, dry and dead spruces and pines, suffocating the few weak oaks and beeches in between, look like covered in gold with a deep crimson hue. They stand in between nowhere, surrounded by miles and miles of endless forests and pampas, far from any town, any civilization, far from any other human life. The bus driver begs and curses, but the bus keeps silent. They avoid each other's eyes; no one is up to spend the night in the wilderness. Since almost all of them know each other for just two days.

"Why don't we go find some kind of a house or so?".

They look at the white-haired boy. He and his sister are the only ones who knew each other before the trip has started.

"I think we should stay here… I'm not up to run around here in the dark", a university student with glasses says.

"Well, does anyone have reception?", the bus driver asks hopefully.

The youths grab into their pockets and bags to take out their cells. After a few seconds they shake their heads.

"Oh yeah, this is totally the way I've imagined this trip… lost in the wilderness, without reception, without a house nearby, only together with a few…".

The rest of his words end in incomprehensible mumbling. The black-haired boy looks really pissed, which annoys a few others in turn. Especially a blond, tall boy, looks at him as if he was close to beat him up. In seconds, the mood turns testy and anxious.

The bus driver tries to calm the youths down. "Ok, those who want to go find a house lift their hands".

They're eleven persons, the bus driver included, but only four want to go. The others want to stay.

"A few should go find some kind of wood for a bonfire. The others could help me try to find the last bit of food we still have…".

The youths split up.

**~~B*L*O*D*D*Y~~M*A*R*Y~~**

They lay next to each other around a small, shyly flickering bonfire. They're wrapped in blankets and coats, their bags are their pillows and the cool, moist earth their beds. The sky is as black as the shadows between the trees. No stars are there. The moon looks like someone has taken a bite from it and it boils with anger now, in a shining red glow. But it's not a comforting red. The moon seems wicked now… and full of bad intentions. The paper-thin clouds, which move beneath its light, travel quickly into the direction the bus has come from. As if they were escaping from something horrific chasing them…

They've had some dry cookies and apples for dinner. Now they're lying in a circle around the bright flames, their heads resting close to the calming heat. They still talk, but the late hour and the exhaustion and restrained worry and anxiety make their tongues heavy and their eyes itchy.

They are group of nine boys, or rather young men, and two girls. The oldest is the bus driver Tachibana, who seems to be caught somewhere between twenty-five and thirty.

Then there's a black-haired man with piercing, light silver eyes. He's tall and doesn't talk much. But it's almost impossible to tell how old he is. He looks so… well, ageless. But you feel that he's not _normal_. He's way too beautiful for being an average guy. His name is Luca.

There're the siblings, Tsukumo and his one-year-older sister Touko, with her bonbon-colored, long hair. It reaches down to her waist. They're closer than normal siblings, but kind-hearted and nice.

The other girl's hair is just as long, but deep pitch-black and glittering. Her name is Aya and she's friendly to everyone, although right now she´s silent, her big black eyes staring into the fire, reflecting the flickering.

The guy with the mahogany-colored, wavy hair seems to also be a university student. He's a bit weird, but nice and talkative, yet in some moments he becomes really quiet. He's called Masamune.

Then there's a 2nd year in Highschool, a slim, brunet, seventeen-year-old boy. He isn't one to talk much, either, but he's calm and cool and smart and he always considers what to say before opening his mouth. His name is Shusei.

The complete opposite of him is the tall, blond Highschool Freshman Hotsuma. He's impulsive, hot-tempered and sometimes sort of cranky. He doesn't look like one to be that popular, but he is. It's hard to explain, but he can somehow chase loneliness and silence away just with his presence. Like he loved being with all kinds of folks.

The black-haired, spoiled 1st year Kuroto doesn´t get along with him, though. He's a little nasty and hostile, but actually a nice guy, once you look behind his facade. And he's a brilliant chess player, what makes him also a great strategist.

The university student with glasses and dark blond hair is Senshiro. He's duteous and seems to be the only one who knows how to cook.

The youngest of the group is a small, blond, fifteen-year-old Highschool Freshman. He may look innocent and slightly fragile, but no one would think that he can do Martial Arts and knows perfectly how to protect himself. He's friendly and a bit naïve, but has a glowing, warm light inside, which never fades. People feel attracted to him, if they want or not. He's called Yuki.

After midnight, their eyes become heavier and heavier and they say Goodnight to each other. After that it's silent in the wilderness, despite the howl of an animal from time to time or the cracking of the small but brave fire. They are all caught in a deep, exhausted slumber, unmoving and soundless. If you wouldn´t see their chests rise and fall, you could think they're dead.

**~~B*L*O*D*D*Y~~M*A*R*Y~~**

Yuki wakes up from a hand forcefully shaking his shoulder. His eyes snap open and his surroundings spin from fatigue and weariness. But immediately he notices that something is wrong. The others all talk in confusion without really listening to each other. The fire has gone out, it doesn´t even glow anymore. It´s so completely dark and the reddish moon seems to mock them with its deceiving light.

"What's wrong?", he asks Kuroto, who's the one who woke him up.

"Aya is gone", he replies.

"Does anyone have a torch right next to him or her? We need light!".

It's the voice of Masamune. He sounds exaggerated. Yuki feels around on the ground, but his fingers only dig into mud and leaves. Then he grips the end of a flashlight and a second later, the bright beam enlightens the fireplace.

"Thanks, Yuki", Senshiro says with a worried smile.

Then another torch enlightens the group. And really, Aya isn't there anymore. Her blanket lays crumpled on the ground next to Touko and Masamune. Yuki feels a shiver running down his spine and he looks around. The road is empty, but the trees seem to stand closer now; closer to them, their twigs reaching out to scratch and grab them… A hand comes to rest on his shoulder. He flinches, but it's only Luca, who ask him quietly, if he's alright. He nods. The others have all started to talk again, Masamune clearly with the intention to go search for Aya. Senshiro says it's stupid to try to find her in the darkness. The siblings and Hotsuma on the other hand want to help Masamune. Their voices become louder and threatening, but maybe it's only Yuki who notices it.

Then a calm, melodic voice cuts right through their heated discussion.

"Where's Tachibana-san?".

The others fall silent and follow Shusei's gaze over to the bus driver's blanket. He isn't there anymore, either. A dark trace starts beneath the blanket.

"Yuki, please move the light over to the bus", the boy says.

Yuki follows the dark trace leading to the bus with his flashlight until it hits the front of the vehicle. There, on the bonnet, a human body lays. Tachibana's eyes are open and empty and stare up to the sky they can't see anymore. A huge black picket is rammed through his chest. The dark trace is the blood-soaked mud. They gasp for air and Touko lets out a thin, high scream. It's like they've fallen right into the darkest of all nightmares.

**~~B*L*O*D*D*Y~~M*A*R*Y~~**

Masamune and Tsukumo find Aya an hour later walking disoriented through the forest. She had gone into the forest because she had needed to stand up for a bit. Then she had lost orientation. Now she's really pale and the reddish spots around her eyes and on her cheeks tell that she has cried. Masamune hugs her consolingly, but it doesn't ease the shock as they tell Aya carefully that Tachibana is dead. She starts crying again. The others don't look any better. They're all tired and aghast and totally unable to fall asleep again. They glance at their watches again and again, but the morning is still far.

"There's still someone running around here", Senshiro says later.

They have enlightened the bonfire again, but keep their backs turned to the corpse they've covered with a tarp. The girls are wrapped in a few layers of blankets.

"Has no one noticed something?", Hotsuma speaks up, his eyes reflecting the orange flames.

"It's hard to believe that some insane killer has gotten that close to us without us noticing him. And that killer only picked out one victim. Why not killing off all of us while we were sleeping?", Kuroto muses.

The others remain silent. And shiver at the thought of Tachibana's murderer still running around close to them.

"I guess…we should leave this place as soon as the sun has risen. And we have to find a functional phone or something. To - to call the police and… Tachibana-san's family", Yuki says and hugs his knees.

Luca next to him wraps a second blanket around his shoulders.

"I think we should keep watch by turns. Always two of us", Tsukumo says. "For the period of one hour. Who wants to start?".

Yuki raises his hand. And to his surprise, Luca does, too. He smiles thankfully at the man.

"Ok, next are Senshiro-san and Kuroto-kun. After that…?".

Hotsuma and Shusei change an unreadable gaze after lifting their hands at the same time, obviously not that thrilled to keep watch together.

"After Hotsuma-kun and Shusei-kun come Masamune-san and me. The girls don't have to keep watch. Does everyone agree?".

They nod. The girls shrug. They lay down beneath their blankets again, but coldness creeps into their clammy clothes. The moon disappears behind a sea of black clouds, swallowing the last bit of light. Yuki sits next to Luca, who stares thoughtfully into the flames, while the others slowly, really slowly relax again. The silence is almost as thick and milky as a tempest fall.

"…Are you scared…?".

His voice is deep and calming. He shrugs, but a warm sensation at his concern makes him feel a little less cold.

"A bit…", he replies honestly.

Luca looks at him from the corners of his silver eyes. "I guess it was foolish if you weren't…".

"I keep on believing that this is just a bad dream and I'll wake up soon…". He chuckles embarrassed, but the man doesn't seem to mind. He just moves his eyes back to the fire.

"That was just the beginning", he says in a low voice colored with watchfulness.

"…So it'll continue?", Yuki asks, not sure if Luca is kidding or not. But no, he doesn't look like he was joking.

"…Till the last one stands".

The trees groan in anticipation at his words, the earth exhales a deep fog out of fear and agony and distrust. Yuki shudders. Luca is right. Tachibana's dead was just the beginning.

* * *

_To be continued..._

_I hope you liked it and please leave a Review, so I know if this was alright or not :)  
_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello =D_

_Sorry for the long wait, but here is the next chap^^_

_And thank you all for the kind reviews =)_

_Please enjoy the next chap.  
_

_I don't own Uraboku or any characters out of it_

* * *

They wake up with stiff necks and sand in their eyes. The sun fights hard to let its light reach them through a thick roof out of grimly clouds. It looks like a grey, stormy ocean right above them. Their eyes immediately move over to the bus, wishing to see no corpse lying on the bonnet. But there is. They turn bitterly around and sit up. What should they do now?

"The sun shines, so we could go find a house, right?" Hotsuma asks tiredly.

"And what if we lose orientation? We won't ever find back, this forest is endless" Kuroto insists.

"Then stay here, no one asks you to come along, got it?" the blond snaps, his eyes almost shooting flames at the smaller boy, no fatigue left in them.

Kuroto opens his mouth to answer, certainly not in a polite manner, but Aya interrupts. "Calm down, you two!" she says friendly but resolutely."No one will be left behind".

"Fine, then let us vote again. Who wants to stay here?" Kuroto lifts his hand with a glare at the blond boy, who ignores it. Senshiro is against leaving the place, too. Even Masamune lifts his hand, surprising the others a bit.

"Why?"

"We noticed last night how easy it is to lose orientation in that forest. So I think we should stay here and wait until someone finds us".

"And who wants to go?" Yuki raises his hand. Luca does, too. The siblings. Hotsuma. The others look intently at Aya and Shusei. Aya only shrugs.

Shusei rests his chin in his palm. "Think a bit more rationally, please. The trip is set for six days. Today is the third. We were meant to reach the next youth hostel in the afternoon. When we don't appear, they won't care, since we paid in advance. The same will happen with the hostel after that. We can assume that our parents will be the first ones to notice our absence in four days when they want to pick us up from the bus station. And it'll take at least another day until they find us. So we could say we'll have to stay here for five days, including today. And even if we portion the food we still have, it won't last for five days, not to mention the water. So the best solution is to go find a house, even though the possibility of being successful is quite small. And concerning the issue with Tachibana's killer, it's not that preferable, either".

"And what is your decision in the end?" Tsukumo asks him, slightly frowning.

The boy keeps silent for a few seconds. Then he says "Searching for a house"

"Alright, but what shall we do with…" Hotsuma nods into the direction of the bus.

"We shouldn't leave him here" Touko says appalled.

"Yeah, but I don't think it's that good to… to take him with us, right?" Masamune says hesitantly.

"Let's lay him into the bus. I guess that'd be best. Like that, he won't be… eaten by some sort of animals or so…" Aya says courageously. She seems to have totally recovered from her adventure the past night.

They nod, but at the same time they avoid each other's eyes. No one wants to touch a corpse. They stand there for a few minutes, until Luca and Senshiro pull themselves together and walk over to the bus. The others silently thank them.

They get the rest of their bags out of the bus and take a few clothes and the food and water they still have. Senshiro studies the map and then says that they'd go west, for at least six kilometers, and then they'd reach a small farming community. They agree and start wandering.

**~~B*L*O*D*D*Y~~M*A*R*Y~**

But they never reach a small farming community. The clouds break open and it rains like it was the last day on earth. It looks like they'd stand beneath a waterfall. Senshiro repeats hopefully that they're still going west, but after five hours he has to admit that they have completely lost orientation. The mood in the group couldn't be worse and it's Hotsuma, who freaks out first.

He suddenly stops walking, throwing his iPod Touch into the mud and curses it in a way the girls pale. Probably they've never heard more creative swear words coming out of the same mouth in such a short time. The guys raise their eyebrows at the sixteen-year-old. Why is he freaking out?

"My fucking iPod doesn't work anymore" he hisses. "And neither does my cell!"

Yuki frowns and reaches one hand into his pocket to take his own cell out. A tight, sickening knot forms in his stomach. He flips it open. The screen is black. But the accumulator has been still half full this morning! In the meantime, Shusei picks the iPod up and brushes his wet bangs away from his eyes. He puts the ear-buds in and listens. His face shows confusion.

"If the accumulator was empty, there wouldn't be that weird sound" he says quietly.

"My cell doesn't work anymore, either" Yuki says and hands it over to the slightly taller boy, who seems to be the only one in their group, who actually knows how to handle these kind of technical problems. Well, if those _are _technical problems.

"Tsukumo, is your cell still working?" Touko asks her brother, her eyes locked on her cell. Her brother shakes his head.

Kuroto throws his Mp3-Player over to the brunet."Here, take a look on it. There's also that weird buzzing sound".

The group moves to rest under a large pine. Shusei checks their broken stuff, while they sit down on their bags and eat a little bit. They watch him silently.

Then he finally says "Nothing is broken"

"And why did they stop working?" Hotsuma asks annoyed.

"It seems like something is blocking the delivery of the electronic frequencies from outside. It's like you'd step into a radio inception. Suddenly, you don't hear any music anymore, only that weird buzzing sound".

"And why does it happen all of the sudden?" Yuki asks, looking at the boy.

Shusei just shrugs. "It's actually impossible, but it has happened nevertheless. If I wouldn't know any better, I'd say someone or something wants to make fun of us"

"Oh please, stop making this even creepier than it is already" Hotsuma mutters pissed.

Yuki watches the boys interested. They look at each other from the corners of their eyes, intently and piercing, but there's no real antipathy between them, at least not yet.

**~~B*L*O*D*D*Y~~M*A*R*Y~~**

The first lightning flashes over the black sky and their faces are enlightened. They look like skulls, shadows pass over their cheeks and eyes. Then the thunder seems to rip the world apart, it hammers in their ears and the earth seems to quaver. The rain is mixed with hail. The hail is sharp and small and bruises them like bullets.

"We have to get out of the rain!" Masamune yells and, holding his bag over his head, he starts running blindly down the road.

"Wait! Masamune!" Touko screams, but it's too late.

There's a loud bang as the next lightning sets a tree right next to the street on fire. The girls scream and Masamune has disappeared. Their eyes water at the sudden brightness and heat. Then a weak coughing reaches them through the noise. The guy is still alive.

Yuki runs towards him and helps him up. The tree has missed him, just so much that he got only a few bruises and burns.

"Are you okay?" Yuki asks.

Masamune nods, still too shocked to find his voice. The next thunder overwhelms them, the rain is cold and they're wet to the bones, the hail gets stronger and stronger.

"This place… something… wants to kill us!" Masamune pants, his lips are bleeding and his eyes are really big and really dark with fear. Yuki stares at him, not knowing what to say.

"Tachibana… was the first… and I… escaped death… just a few… seconds ago… It… wants… to get us… All of us!".

The others pull them away from the fire. And as the next lightning enlightens the sky, they disappear into the forest, knowing that it's dangerous and unknowing of the horror they are still to meet.

An hour later, they stop walking, all their eyes locked on the gigantic image in front of them. They got the forest in their backs, the twigs and branches claw into their bags and clothes like fatally ill people and they were the only cure. The rain and the hail haven't stopped yet. The group is wet to the bones; freezing and dark circles start to form beneath their eyes, which flicker in a weird kind of way. Like a pair of wild animals; only one rash word and they tear you apart.

"This sucks" Kuroto spits out and kicks against the next tree.

"This building was nowhere mentioned in the information papers that travel organization gave us" Touko says, sharing a glance with her brother. "But it's here, as all of us can see".

"Maybe it's not even inhabited" Aya looks around:"There's no light up there".

It's a creepy image. The castle is simply gigantic; a large moat separating the castle from the forest, a bridge is the only way to cross it. The castle is build out of thick, grey, not really nicely formed stones, as if they were directly torn out of the mountains a few kilometers ahead of them. And as Aya mentioned already, none of these countless windows is enlightened. The castle lies in front of them like the fossilized skeleton of a big monster out of a different world.

"This is like being caught between a rock and a hard place" Hotsuma says angrily.

No one, not even Kuroto, answers back; they all agree with him. Y

uki moves a bit to the side, until he stands next to Luca. "What do you think?" he wants to know, looking carefully up to him.

"…Turning back will have the same outcome as before. Going there probably not".

He nods; he thinks the same. But still, at the thought of entering that castle… a cold shiver runs down his spine.

"Are you ok?" Luca asks concerned.

"More or less…".

He looks at him and meets the silver stare. _But I'm glad that you're here_. He hasn't said those words aloud, but he has the feeling that the man has understood him nevertheless.

"It's open…" Senshiro takes off his glasses and cleans them absent-mindedly.

"Should we go inside?"

"Well, I'm not up to spend the rest of the day in this damn rain" Kuroto hisses and pushes the elder to the side.

"That boy should do something about his manners" Touko says and raises her eyebrows. "Well, let's follow him, before he breaks something or so.."

One by one they walk through the big entrance door. And find themselves in an entrance hall where two houses could fit in, maybe three.

"Wow"

Old, expensive paintings hang at the walls. Two stairs lead up into the first floor. There, stairs lead into the second floor. Down here, opposite of them, three doors lead into different rooms. The carpet is thick and of the color of wine. It swallows every sound.

"Hello?" Masamune suddenly calls out. They startle. "Sorry" he says.

An echo is his only answer.

"It looks like there's really no one here, except us" Shusei muses.

His thoughtful eyes wander through the hall. "But why was it open? Who would leave a castle unlocked?"

"Maybe the owner is coming back soon. And he didn't expect visitors. In all honesty, who would, in this soulless region?" Tsukumo says.

"Or maybe…"

"Welcome!"

They startle anew at the sound of a rich voice coming from the stairs.

They turn around, seeing a man with long blond hair and an extravagant suit coming down the stairs. His eyes are icy blue and piercing.

"Welcome in my castle. My name is Takashiro" He smiles, exposing perfect white teeth.

"I hope you'll enjoy your time here".

* * *

_To ve continued..._

_So, I hope you liked it and please leave a review =D  
_


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello^^_

_The next chap comes much faster than I expected. Well, right now I really have much fun writing this story and that's the reason for the fast update :)_

_ I hope you'll enjoy!_

_I don't own uraboku or any characters out of it._

* * *

Takashiro is the owner of the castle. And he lets them stay there until the storm's over.

"Do you have a phone here so we can contact our families?" Masamune asks politely, but the man shakes his head, his eyes wandering over their pale, frozen faces.

"The line's gone dead due to the storm. That's nothing unusual in this area when such bad weather occurs..." he explains.

"So Internet doesn't work, either?" Senshiro asks with a frown on his face.

"All the electronic gadgets don't work"

They change gazes.

"Are you hungry? I'll tell my cook and my employees to make something to eat. And night's arriving soon. I believe you want to stay here the night? The storm won't be over till morning"

Yuki meets the silent stare of Luca. The man doesn't look comfortable at all. Rather distrustful he watches the owner of the castle.

"Is it really alright for you to let us sleep here?" Aya asks doubtfully. "We're a bunch of strangers…"

"Oh, you're not the first group of youths who came here" He turns around. His blond hair looks like long fine twines of gold. "I'll see you tomorrow morning. Good evening" He walks the stairs up into the first floor… the second floor. Then he's gone and so are his footsteps. They're left alone in the entrance hall.

"Shall we really stay here?" Touko asks; her eyes are narrowed and flicker with anxiety.

"Are there any other options left?" Shusei answers.

The siblings and the brunet start a quiet but rather friendly discussion, while the others either listen or sit down on the carpet, their nerves completely shot. Tired and exhausted, Yuki sits down next to his bag, hugging his knees. His tongue feels heavy, just like his eyelids. All he wants now is a hot bath, something warm for dinner and a soft bed. The voices of the discussion get louder. No surprise; Hotsuma and Kuroto joined in and are about to start a fight again. He watches the two. There's an antipathy and a tension between them, almost tangible. They don't listen to each other and they don't want to understand each other. Their words become furious and nasty and are meant to hurt.

"Stop it, you two!" Aya and Touko shout angrily, but it's like they'd shout against a wall of bricks.

Their voices get louder and louder in Yuki's ears; he pulls his knees closer to his chest and a heavy cloud of irate thoughts settles in his weary mind. He closes his eyes but the voices don't disappear, they get _louder_ and _louder_ and _yell_ and yell _at him_…

"Yuki" Luca lets him startle.

The man stands next to him. He looks up to him. Then he follows his gaze to one of the three doors opposite the entrance door. A butler has appeared. He has black hair and wears glasses. His clothes are black, except his white shirt and gloves. Even in his uniform he looks richer than them.

"Good evening to all of you. My name is Fuyotoki. Takashiro-sama told me that you are to spend the night in our castle"

He doesn't seem to expect an answer. Hotsuma and Kuroto still kill each other with their gazes and the others are in no mood to talk anymore.

"Let me show you your rooms. Please follow me" He turns to the stairs. The youths take their bags and start following him upstairs.

"We have enough rooms for all of you. No one has to share a room with someone else"

No one replies at that. It's a weird feeling Yuki starts to have. The thought of being separated from the others somewhat frightens him. Separated in this big, empty, dark castle that was nowhere mentioned on the maps. They follow the butler through huge wing doors and enter a long corridor with lots of doors on each side. Further away, the corridor leads to the right and to the left and probably continues.

"Here we are. The sheets are all freshly washed. The last rooms on this floor are the bathrooms. You may freshen up a bit. Dinner will be served at 7 o`clock in the right room you can enter from the entrance hall. Do you still have any questions?" They shake their heads and thank him. Then he disappears downstairs again.

"So, let's see…"

They open the doors to their rooms. They all look quite the same after comparing them a bit. There's a big double bed in each room, sofas and couches, a table with a vase full of flowers, huge windows with thick, dark red curtains and a dark blue carpet. The walls are crème white.

"Wow… that looks expensive…" Masamune muses as he enters the room he wants to stay in.

The others still stand in the floor, unsure of what to do. The others look at each other silently. It somehow reminds one of a school trip, in a really creepy kind of way.

"Oh man, this is starting to piss me off" Hotsuma mutters and rips the door to the next door open. "I'll stay here. See ya later"

With that he bangs the door close. The others go open their own doors.

**~~B*L*O*O*D*Y~~M*A*R*Y~~**

Yuki is surprised as he notices that Luca takes the room right next to his. But he feels happy at that. And maybe less frightened. He sits down on the big bed. The mattress is soft and fluffy. On the corridor it's getting quieter. 

_Oh well… _

He wonders what the others might think about now. Maybe they think of their families. Or their friends. He opens his bag and pulls out something dry and fresh to put on. Then he changes his clothes, deciding to take a bath after the dinner. Then he lies down on his bed. He still has more than an hour until dinner starts. He closes his eyes.

It's a scream that wakes him up from his shallow slumber. He sits up and the room is spinning around him. Someone has screamed! He jumps up from the bed and runs to the door, almost falling over his own feet. He opens the door and Tsukumo passes him as he runs to the bathrooms.

"What happened?" Shusei asks him concerned, whose room is opposite of Yuki's.

"I'm not sure…"

They hurry after the white-haired boy. Tsukumo rips the door to one of the bathrooms open.

"Touko!" he says alerted. Yuki and Shusei stop right behind him. There the girl stands, staring at the big wash basin in the completely white tiled bathroom.

"Look at- look at the water!" she squeaks and she rushes over to her brother's side.

"What happened?" Senshiro, who appears next to Yuki, asks. "I heard someone screaming…"

The rest of the group appears at the door to the bathroom. Yuki approaches the basin. The water which still rushes out of the faucet is… red. And in the basin, a few spiders drown in the water.

"Yuki?"

"The water… it's red…"

"First, it wasn't! Suddenly it became all r-red and the spiders crawled out of the drain" Touko says, horror in her voice. Tsukumo holds her closer. Yuki plucks up his courage and closes the faucet. The water and the drowning spiders disappear.

"…Creepy…" Kuroto mutters, opening the door to the other bathroom. "I'll go check here…" It stays silent for a few seconds. "Everything's fine" he says then.

They stand in a circle. Each having a weird feeling in the stomach. "I'll go downstairs already. This corridor sucks" Hotsuma says; his voice sounding much less fierce than his words.

"I'll come with you" Shusei replies, surprising the others a bit.

"Do whatever you want…" The two disappear at the stairs.

"How long does it still take until dinner?" Masamune asks Senshiro.

"Twenty minutes"

"Shall we go downstairs, now, too?"

They shrug; a few of them even nod and start to move.

**~~B*L*O*O*D*Y~~M*A*R*Y~~**

Yuki doesn't; at his room he walks through the door to get his shoes. But as he crouches down to tie them he slows down in his movements. There's no one else on the corridor anymore; they're all downstairs already. A flash enlightens his room for a second, before the thunder quavers through the house and right through his body, making his bones and muscles ache. It's unbelievably loud. The rain and the hail hammer against the windows, dying to get inside. He turns around, a shiver running down his spine. Suddenly, he feels really cold. He stands up.

On the corridor, it's dark. Someone switched the light off before going down the stairs. Yuki doesn't know where to put it on again, so he has to find the stairs alone. Well, not such a difficult task, but he feels weird… as if something was trying to grab his ankles or so. He turns around. And he waits, staring into the almost-darkness. He waits quite long. And it feels like the breath of something else was hitting his skin. Or is it just his own? He steps forward. There's nothing. He reaches out one hand. Then he steps forward again. 

_There's something…._

His breath gets louder in his ears, louder than the thunder, louder than the rain. Louder than his heart.

Suddenly there's a large hand that comes to rest on his shoulders. His instinct kicks in, the side of him that loves and does Martial Arts takes control and he's about to knock whomever it is down.

"Yuki!"

"Uwah! Luca!"

His fist stops a few inches in front of the man's cheekbone. His heart hammers against his chest now, far worse than the hail outside. He hasn't noticed his muscles in his back and his stomach being clenched all the time. As he relaxes them he feels them hurting.

"What were you doing?" Luca asks, looking bemused at his fist.

"Oh, uh, sorry…"

He lowers his fist and the hand disappears from his shoulder. He looks behind him. Like before, there's nothing. "I…thought that…" He stops, feeling stupid. And embarrassed. Luca looks at him and there's no emotion in his eyes. Like silver rooms in which all the doors are locked.

"Nevermind. Let's go downstairs"

The man turns around. "If you say so"

In the dining room the others sit around a large table already. Pots and plates and pans stand there, waiting for them. Delicious scents lay in the air. Yuki sits down next to Kuroto. The boy looks intently at the pot right in front of him. He hears his stomach rumbling. They don't quite talk; they all stare at the food and wish for nothing but to start eating already. Then Fuyotoki appears.

"You may start eating now. If you wish for something, just knock at the door over there" He nods to a simple door in the right corner of the dining room. "Help yourself"

All at once they reach out and load their plates full. Even Shusei, who isn't one to eat much, has a full plate in front of him. And for a long while, all one can hear in the large, pretty dining room is the sound of the youths eating hungrily the delicious food. As if they have been close to starving.

The mood lightens up. Yuki feels a heavy, depressing feeling disappearing from his chest. He hasn't noticed it before, but now he is able to really _smile_ again, as the siblings joke around and Senshiro and Masamune tell some funny stories. Not even Hotsuma and Kuroto are in the mood to pick a fight again. They ignore each other, which is much better than what all of them had to endure the past hours and days. Kuroto stays completely silent most of the time; Hotsuma sometimes makes a perfect comment in his dry humored way so everyone would start to laugh and he himself would grin slightly. But, like Kuroto, he's surprisingly silent.

Later they sit there, the pots and pans have disappeared, Fuyotoki has brought them some cans of coffee and hot chocolate and plates full of cakes and cookies. The conversation turns lively; gone are fatigue and exhaustion, the hour is exacting and so are the words they share; they get to know each other better and that's a feeling Yuki has missed till now.

They don't get to know anything about each other's lives, though; what they get to know are things they only realize when they look closely and listen carefully. And, thinking about it... Maybe it's not that good knowing too much about each other.

**~~B*L*O*O*D*Y~~M*A*R*Y~~**

It's a thrilling atmosphere. The bad weather outside, the rain and the hail and the coldness trying to creep into the castle, the secrets living in this rooms, the knowledge that they're caught here; it's all so really exciting and something you don't get to feel often. In those moments, you feel like your life could go on like that forever; far away from home, together with people you've hardly known, in an area where it's dangerous and you don't seem find your way back home… it's an adventure. A journey you can't see the end of. A story worth remembering.

But something about this place… does it let them let their guards down without noticing? The conversation now circles around scary experiences they've made already. Aya tells them about when she was a child, she has known a girl. She died in a car crash. The evening before that incident, the girl went over to her house and gave her a self-made drawing of a car. She said "Keep it for, me, ok? See ya" the next day, she died as a car hit her. It was the same car she had painted on the picture she had given to Aya.

"You know what? On a sleepover two years ago we played Ouija. And we really had a ghost! You remember it, Tsukumo?" Touko says.

"Yes. It was creepy"

"Totally! A few of my friends couldn't sleep after that. They told me that they had the feeling of someone touching and grabbing them all night! It was the ghost!"

"Well, actually it's all just some weird movements of the muscles in the arm" Senshiro muses.

"Who knows…"

"Does anyone know about the Wendigo?" Masamune asks.

"No, what's that?"

"It's a spirit that can possess you or you can turn into a Wendigo entirely. You have a terrible hunger for human flesh then" the university student explains.

"That's disgusting" Touko says.

"There're no such things as Wendigos" Hotsuma says, his chin resting in his palm.

"...Really?" Shusei asks in a low voice, so only a few of them hear him.

"All this creepy stuff is bullshit"

"Any proof?"

"Yeah" Suddenly, he straightens up. "Do all of you know about Bloody Mary?"

"Of course. Step in front of a mirror and say her name three times. If you haven't done anything wrong in your life, she won't kill you" Aya replies.

"Exactly. So, shall I go try?"

"Better you won't" Yuki mutters.

"Why?"

"I agree with Yuki. Are we children or so?" Kuroto says.

"Oh please, are you scared?"

"How old are you, twelve? Doing that stuff isn't funny anymore" the boy responds, anger boiling up in his eyes.

"Just let him try if he wants to. It's just a story for small children after all" Tsukumo says, trying to loosen up the conversation again.

"They act as if they've all completely forgotten about Tachibana's death already" Luca mutters next to Yuki. He startles. And then he lowers his head in shame. Now that the man mentions it… he, too, hasn't given the dead bus-driver any thought since they've arrived here.

"Hey guys, stop it, ok?" he says to the two boys. "Can we change the topic now, please?"

"I'll show you, there won't happen anything" the blond sixteen-year old hisses, ignoring Yuki.

Then he rushes out of the dining room into the entrance hall, where a large mirror is hanging at the wall. Kuroto storms after him. They let the door open and then they hear the voice of Hotsuma: "_Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary_"

And in the first floor a window bursts.

* * *

_To be continued..._

_I hope you liked the chap. Please let me know if you liked it or not_

_So please, leave a Review :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello everyone =)_

_Sorry for letting ou wait for so long, but here is the next chap^^ Please enjoy :)  
_

_I don't own Uraboku or any characters out of it.  
_

* * *

„What was that?", Touko asks after a second of silence and shock.

"Seemed like a breaking window to me" Shusei says, his voice calm but his eyes narrowed and fixed on the door to the entrance hall.

"Hotsuma?" Aya shouts hesitantly.

A cursing is the answer, together with angry steps returning to them. "Oh man, how boring. Not even a shadow or so, absolutely nothing" he barks.

"Damnit, haven't you heard the window bursting?" Kuroto wants to know, standing up, his hands crashing onto the table.

"Oh, c'mon, it's stormy outside; maybe just a branch or so that hit the window" the blond replies.

"Well, I will go take a look. In the end, it was my room or so…" Yuki mutters.

Somehow he doesn't want to see them all, now. Before anyone can stop him, he stands up from the table and leaves the dining room.

He can't find the light switch. The door closes behind him, with the heavy sound of thick, old vicious wood, spitefully timbered, from a long time ago. His feet seem to be screwed into the floor. He wants to move, but his thundering heart paralyses him. He knows that he is frightened. But of what, he cannot tell. Nor for what exactly. And to know that he doesn't know at all, frightens him the most. _C'mon, just move, there's nothing, just move…_

The stairs are just over there and there's only one meaningless door that separates him from the others. Just one door… as he looks, he can't even see the slightest traces of light reaching to him through the door frame. As though the wood was swallowing it up all; leaving nothing for him.

With all his might he succeeds to lift one foot and makes a shaky, stumbling step toward his destination. He memorizes the entrance hall much smaller, much lighter, no waves or hills in the carpet. But suddenly, his left foot hits a carpet hill and he falls over, the fabric hill as hard and firm as stone, bruising his shin.

The air is pressed out of his lungs and the noise of his body colliding with the floor scares him so much that he bites his tongue so hard it tears. He covers his ears, even as the sound has subsided, he lays there, unmoving, his face pressed into the weirdly smelling carpet that itches his skin like the old, moth-eaten fur of a sheep; blood in his mouth. So unmoving. So scared. So angry at the overpowering fear.

Like the moment of horror frozen into an eternity that never ends and from which one will never get away.

It takes him like decades to sit up on shaky elbows and knees. His tongue hurts, just like his shin bone. And then, with the speed of a hunted animal, he runs over to where he expects the stairs and presses himself against the stair railing. His heart beats so fast and painfully; it feels as though it was breaking his ribs.

_Stupid idea, stupid idea, stupid idea_, he thinks to himself. He slides one hand up the cool, flat surface of the stair railing.

Is it only his breath? Why is there the feeling of cold air against his skin? He takes one step, his other hand pressed to his stomach. Now, there's the cold air on his face, sliding like cold, clammy fingertips over his eyes, his throat, his mouth –

"Yuki!"

He flinches so much he crouches down right on the stairs, pressing his hand to his mouth to stop all sounds threatening to come out. His forehead hurts; he has hit it against the railing.

"Yuki, are you there?" It's the voice of Masamune.

"Y-yeah" he whispers; his voice cracked and dry. A match is lightened up and finally, he can see the young man's face looking worried at him.

"Are you alright? You look as if you had seen a ghost".

He nods and stands up. The match goes out.

"Shall I come with you upstairs? To go up there alone is quite creepy, isn't it?" he says cheerfully.

"…a bit". _Why didn't I see the door from the dining room opening? I can't remember… was there any sound?_

Masamune pats him on the shoulder; then he passes him on the stairs. "There's nothing to be afraid of. It's only an old castle and you're not alone".

But a few seconds ago, he could've also been the only one inside this castle, for all the loneliness he had felt. He frowns. Why can't he remember where the door was? Why hadn't he thought of going back? Now that he thinks of it… has he thought about it at all? Masamune lightens up another match to light up the way. Yuki throws one look back at the carpet of the entrance hall.

How strange.

No waves. No hills to stumble over.

"Yuki?"

"…Yeah… I'm right behind you…" he murmurs.

**~~B*L*O*D*D*Y~~M*A*R*Y~~**

"The stories were indeed creepy, right?" Masamune says as they walk down the hallway to the rooms.

"…Kind of…" he replies.

"Don't worry, there're no such things as ghosts or Wendigos. Those are just silly fairytales for small children".

Probably.

Yuki opens the door to his door and puts the light on. Everything's still the same as before.

"The stone didn't hit my window" he says loudly.

No answer comes back. He turns, but Masamune is gone. He frowns.

"Masamune-san?" he asks and walks down the enlightened corridor. Though the light is on, it still seems creepy.

"Masamune-san...?"

Suddenly, a thunder grumbles so loud that he covers his ears and he feels the fear rising up in his chest again. One of the doors is open, but no light is on.

"Masamune-san? Are you in there?" he asks, trying o control the shaking in his voice.

Like before, no answer. He opens the door completely and in the light of a flash outside the castle, he sees a human body lying on the ground.

He doesn't scream – he simply _breathes _and steps backwards, horror clouding his eyes, narrowing his surroundings until he believes that he stands in a dark tunnel without an end. He turns and wants to run, but he crashes against something solid, warm and tall.

"Yuki!" Luca says loudly. No matter how hard he breathes, no air seems to find his lungs. Black spots dance before his inner eyes.

"Yuki! Calm down!"

"Look at me" another voice says; a dulcet, melodious voice that captivates his senses. His eyes move jittery around to meet the gaze of the brunet boy, Shusei.

"And now breathe slowly, take your time"

He looks at him, even feels himself drowning in the pitch black pupils – but the air fills his lungs again, the life-giving oxygen is transported through his small body again.

"Better?"

He nods, still unable to speak.

"…What was going on?" Luca asks.

He turns and points at the room, the spot where the body is laying. But now…. There`s… "No" he says hoarsely, "It's gone".

"Why are you standing in front of my door?" another voice behind them asks.

They turn and see Masamune stand there, healthy, alive, only confused.

"You… where did you come from?" he bursts out.

The elder boy frowns. "Where else should I be coming from? From the dining room of course"

"What? But only a few minutes ago, you were here, in the corridor, together with me" Yuki insists.

And now they all look at him.

"Yuki" Shusei says, really friendly, "Luca-san and I agreed on going upstairs together with you. We were always by your side".

The boy stares at him. And fear spreads in his stomach.

"What…?"

"Yeah, you… were walking next to us the whole time"

He blinks, but no matter how hard he tries, he… he simply can't put together what has happened… or _not happened_ the past fifteen minutes. _Why can't I remember? Why do I only remember having been alone? _his insides scream.

**~~B*L*O*D*D*Y~~M*A*R*Y~~**

After another hour, the others also gather upstairs and prepare to go to bed. They have all become quite silent once again and the fatigue is reflected in their drooping eyes. Even Hotsuma and Kuroto seem too tired to continue fighting. The storm outside continues, as powerful and merciless as before. They say goodnight to each other and disappear in their rooms; silence stretches out throughout the castle.

The bed is warm, large and the blanket smooth and smells familiar for no reasons; yet Yuki feels uncomfortable, somewhat small and tiny, almost lost in this large room… this large castle in this wide, endless, empty region. He turns from one side to the other and can't find any rest. He sits up again and switches on the light on the night table. The shadows on the wall opposite of him dance and flicker like a bunch of black imps, laughing and point at him and his childish, silly fear.

Suddenly, there's a knock on his door. He stands up and walks over on bare feet.

"Yeah..?" he asks and opens, only so far that he can see something. It's Touko.

"Yuki-kun, can't you sleep, either?" she asks and her long hair falls in bonbon-colored waves down.

"No…" he replies.

"Tsukumo and I don't know what to do… it's so creepy here… But do you want to come over to our room, hanging out together for a bit? Probably we will all get tired from talking so we'll be able to sleep" she says.

He shrugs. Then he nods and closes the door behind him and follows the elder girl to the room she shares with her brother.

As they come there, there're already Aya and Kuroto in the room, too. And Tsukumo goes and tries to convince the others to come out once again, too. They sit down on the carpet and don't know what to do, while the wind howls and knocks harshly against the windows. They talk about meaningless nonsense as suddenly the door is ripped open and Senshiro enters with his glasses awry on his nose.

"I know where the bursting sound earlier came from" he says, so loud that they flinch.

"Yes?" Yuki asks curiously, ignoring the quickening of his heart. He swallows down the nervousness and first signs of fear, telling himself that there's nothing to be afraid of.

"Yes, it was kind of weird… I found shards and a rock in one corner of my room… but, and I know it sounds weird, there's no window close, neither a mirror… All the windows are still intact; I really wonder where the shards came from…".

They stare at the young man and don't know what to say.

Then Kuroto says angrily "Stop talking bullshit! This is not funny at all!"

"It's not a joke. Here, look at the rock" He holds the fist-big rock in one hand. They change gazes and Yuki believes that the eyes of the siblings get somewhat darker.

**~~B*L*O*D*D*Y~~M*A*R*Y~~**

"What's going on here, flash mob action?" a sarcastic voice says behind Senshiro and Hotsuma appears. The blond pushes past Senshiro to enter the room and falls to the carpet next to Aya.

"How strange, Bloody Mary hasn't killed you yet" Kuroto taunts and glares at the taller boy.

But Hotsuma doesn't pay him any attention. His piercing eyes lock on Shusei, who appears now in the shadow of the corridor, his face barely enlightened. Tsukumo really seems to manage to gather them all here. And Yuki feels thankful for that.

The warmth and the closeness of the others make the bad, the fear go away, move away from this pool of heat, movement and voices, making it lurk and wait in the last dark corners of the room, the castle, their minds. And his lips even form a silent smile, as Luca enters the room and says nothing as he sits down right next to him.

The siblings have a cool idea. They tell Hotsuma and Shusei (weirdly enough, they don't seem to be too displeased about the fact) to get two lamps and torches. Then they take out some paper from their bags and cut out the shapes of humans and animals, trees and plants.

"It's gonna be a shadow play" Touko smiles.

"Wow… but I thought it's normally that you form the shapes with your fingers…" Yuki says surprised.

The girl chuckles and Aya volunteers to help.

"Actually yes, but Tsukumo and I prefer to do it with shapes out of paper. Looks better" she grins.

Hotsuma and Shusei come back, both with unmoving faces. They place the lanterns and torches on the ground, opposite an empty wall.

It takes another few minutes until the siblings tell them that they could turn off the light. The only warm, golden light radiates from the lantern and the torches now, throwing large enlightened spots at the wall.

Yuki feels his rising joy, but still he holds his arms and legs close to his body. Who knows what's there in the dark… He jumps as Luca puts a hand on his shoulder. In the dim light, he sees the silver of his eyes, much more intense and clearer than in a room filled with bright light. He hugs his knees.

"…Afraid of the dark…?" the man asks in a low voice.

He shakes his head. "Not the dark... but what may wait there and watch me…".

The young man nods. Then he moves so his back rests against the bed and…

"… I can…?" Yuki asks with insecurity in his voice.

Luca nods. And then he moves so that he sits with his back against the man's chest; Luca's body forming some kind of a warm, trustful refuge, with his long legs on both sides from him, the pale hands resting on his knees, almost touching Yuki's body.

The heart beat is right behind him, and though they sit almost completely in the dark, he feels that the dark can't get close to him.

The shadow play starts and the siblings tell a funny story about all kinds of animals leaving their home forest to find a new one; on their way to a new place to stay they meet all kinds of other animals and also humans.

The story may be for children, but still Yuki feels captivated as he sees the shadows live in the light at the wall. He relaxes against Luca's chest.

Also the others are fascinated and enjoy the shadow play. And if Yuki had had eyes like a cat, he would spot the intense gazes Hotsuma and Shusei share from time to time.

The gazes are telling everything and nothing at all. There is a strange tension between them, none of the others quite notices.

**~~B*L*O*D*D*Y~~M*A*R*Y~~**

Suddenly, a mighty blast hits the window so hard it rattles and the glasses clatter. They flinch and stare outside. The moving shadow of a tree that is violently toyed with by the storm is the only thing they can see in the darkness and the dim light from the lanterns and torches in the room.

Yuki's heart starts to beat really fast against his chest once again. He claws his hands into the fabric of his shirt. Another blast hits the window, but this time, it sounds as if something heavy and solid was crashing against it from outside. They narrow their eyes.

"Is that… a doll?" Aya asks in a very high voice.

"…Could be…" Tsukumo replies, dropping the fox-shaped piece of paper.

It hits the window again. It looks indeed like a doll… or a human body at least. How weird…

"Just a branch of a tree" Hotsuma grunts disinterested, but the tenseness is evident in his voice.

"Take a closer look, idiot, it's not a branch" Kuroto answers him.

"Oh yeah? I'll go take a closer look then, you wussy" the blond boy says whilst shooting furious arrows out of his eyes.

"Fine, do as you please!"

Hotsuma stands up and walks over to the window.

"Just let it be, Hotsuma-kun" Touko says frightened.

"Oh, c'mon, there's nothing out there"

He rips the window open – and the icy wind enters the room, ripping at their hair and their clothes; the hail scratches over their naked faces and hands.

Suddenly, a heavy thud can be heard and something large and… lifeless lands on the window sill. Hotsuma jumps back. And as the next lightning enlightens the room, the girls start to scream and the boys jump up and stumble backwards.

"What the hell?" Senshiro shouts, horror reflected in his glasses.

"Oh my god…" Touko whispers and holds a hand in front of her mouth; their faces all lose any kind of color.

It is Tachibana, the dead bus driver.

There's an empty grin fixed with gruesome needles and wires into his face; wires are driven through his knuckles, hands, elbows and neck and are somewhere lost on the roof.

Yuki gasps and his stomach turns so much he almost throws up. Someone has made Tachibana to a human puppet.

The dead hand suddenly lifts and waves to them.

And they run.

* * *

_To be continued..._

_I hope you liked it =) Please review  
_


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